Summary
Hepatic sinusoids in the calf have been studied by light and electron microscopy. The endothelial lining is shown to be continuous and to be associated with a prominent basement membrane. The perisinusoidal space (of Disse) contains collagen fibrils and is otherwise nearly filled with hepatic cell microvilli. Perisinusoidal cells resembling fibroblasts or reticular cells in morphology and distribution are present in moderate numbers. Hepatic sinusoids in the rat were examined for purposes of comparison. In the rat the sinusoidal lining is discontinuous and there is no identifiable basement membrane. The perisinusoidal space is larger than in the calf and contains more sparsely distributed collagen fibrils. Perisinusoidal cells have not been identified. It is suggested that the difference in structure is not artifactitious but represents a species variation. This species difference seems important to record since observations on the rat and other small laboratory animals provide the basis for most of the current generalizations about the organization of the mammalian liver sinusoid. The functional significance of the two types of sinusoidal arrangement is not clear.
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Supported in part by Grant H-2698 from the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service.
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Wood, R.L. Evidence of species differences in the ultrastructure of the Hepatic sinusoid. Z.Zellforsch 58, 679–692 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00410656
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00410656